horror Archives - Rachel Bustin

Oh yes it’s that time of year again – Halloween! It comes a close second to my favourite time of year, Christmas. The best thing about Halloween is the dark Autumn evenings that have arrived, making it perfect for cuddling up on the sofa with lots of scary movies.

I have always been a huge horror fan since I was about 13. I used to read Stephen King books in English reading time at school. My favourite Halloween reading book as always been The Shining by Stephen King. I do have to say that the movie starring Jack Nicholson is right there at the top to watch this Halloween for that scare!

I’m an old school horror fan. Some of the new ones out just don’t have the scare factor like the original Nightmare on Elm Street and The Exorcist.

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Every so often I love to browse through all the books on bookbridgr to see what new books are out and what I like the look of. Sometimes its very hard not to request to read more than I can handle! It’s always so tempting!

What caught my eye about Dead Ringers by Christopher Golden was not only the cover which contains a weird creepy house (my favourite type of horror books) but also the authors name Christopher Golden, as I have read one of his other novels Snowblind. I was so pleased when Dead Ringers arrived in the post from bookbridgr knowing that I had been approved to read and review it.

Book Description

When Tess Devlin bumps into her ex-husband, she’s furious that he seems not to know her.

And then Frank Lindbergh is attacked by an intruder in his home … an intruder who wears Frank’s face.

In the heart of the city, a mansion stands on a hill and behind its wrought-iron fence an evil force is at work, leaving everyone who comes near it hysterical with fear.

But the real terror lies inside the house. Tess and Frank have no choice but to confront a mistake made years ago. A mistake that summoned an ancient evil … and means even their own reflections could kill them.

My Review

The book starts off with a really strange prologue with someone breaking into Frank Lindbergh’s house who looks like a mirror image of him. By the end of the creepy prologue I was hooked. Chapter one introduces you to the main character of the book – Tess Devlin and her encounter on the street with a man who happens to look exactly like her ex-husband Nick. From here on Tess’s best friend Lili also sees someone who could be her twin, and Tess herself comes face to face with her doppelganger. At this point I had more questions than answers and this is what I love about a great book!

My first thoughts were, is this book about long lost identical twins being brought together by some mystical force somehow?

I was eager to carry on with the story and find out what was going on and why everyone seemed afraid of the massive house in the middle of the city. How were Tess and Frank connected to it? and how/if they were able to put everything right.

One of the scary things about this book is identity theft, and how is easy it seemed for others to actually think they were talking to ‘Frank or Tess’ and how hard it was to tell them apart from the real people. To me this rings easily with today’s world in how easily innocent people’s identity can be stolen by identity fraud.

Overall Dead Ringers is one creepy, mystical scary story and I really enjoyed the ride. My only negative about the book is that some of the characters were not necessarily needed and we didn’t get to hear all of their background stories. The book is well written and the locations described perfectly.

I have given Dead Ringers by Christopher Golden 4 out of 5 stars.

Paperback Edition 320 pages

Published 3rd November by Headline

Disclaimer: All the views and opinons expressed are my own. Book supplied by Bookbridgr for purpose of this review only. Book description taken from bookbridgr for purpose of this review only.

I was browsing through the Goodreads giveaways and came across this chilling supernatural novella so I entered and was lucky to have won a copy. Here is my honest review.

I am a huge fan of novellas and short stories. I think it takes a very special writer to get their story across in a limited number of words. Novellas are too long to be a short story but too short to be a novel. So perfect for reading in a day when you have a few spare hours. Unlike short stories novellas have more room to develop the characters and plot slightly more.

What fascinated me about The Other Boy by Ian and Rosi Taylor was at first the mysterious yet also chilling and scary cover, then I read the blurb and thought, wow this looks like a great little read! So when I was lucky enough to win a copy I was over the moon!

Book Description

Desperate to save their crumbling marriage, Will and Alice Harding retreat to an isolated cottage in the English countryside.

A landscape of standing stones and holy wells provides perfect fodder for the fertile imagination of their seven-year-old son, Toby. Toby vanishes before his father’s astonished eyes only to reappear, with an impossible explanation for his disappearance.

Soon, Alice notices that her son is different, changing into a monstrous stranger. Her fears are compounded when a hooded figure is seen skulking around their troubled new home. Over the days that follow, Alice fears for her own sanity, as local tales of dark magic and sacrifice appear to be true.

Will suspects that his wife is mentally collapsing as a result of his past infidelity. With their marriage stretched to breaking point, the Hardings stand to lose more than just each other, as Toby deteriorates further with every passing hour, feeding the vengeful spirit of… The Other Boy

My Review

Husband and wife Alice and Will have moved with their 7 year old son Toby to a remote part of the countryside to have a new start and hopefully save their marriage. Creepy things start to happen when Toby goes missing in front of his fathers eyes in an empty field while they are out exploring. This is when the novella really starts kicking up a gear and gets more frightening by the minute. Folklore, magic, paganism and local tales all play a part in this novella.

For the limited amount of words available I believe that the plot doesn’t suffer at all, although the character of Simon who is the families neighbour could have been developed more. I would have loved to have found out his background and how he came to live at Boggarts Hall by himself.

The Other Boy is a well written novella and one myself I couldn’t put down until the end. Highly recommended for that quick fix of horror, magic and the supernatural.

I have given The Other Boy by Ian and Rosi Taylor 5 out of 5 stars.

Paperback Edition 126 pages

Published 10th November 2015 by Dark Chapter Press

Rachel xx

Disclaimer: All the views and opinion’s expressed are my own. Book Description taken from Goodreads for the purpose of this review only.

I was given an ebook copy of Rooted and Four Other Disturbing Stories by Shane Hall to read and review for my blog. A word of warning is that the short stories are not for the faint hearted!

Product Description

“Inside are five brief and unsettling stories based on the dark, unknown corners of humanity and beyond. Five paranormal terrors await, from an impossible video rental store run by a smiling teenage girl, to the corners of reality where humans are locked away, and even to a sunny parking lot where a person who looks just like you is walking closer and closer”

My first thoughts were that the cover is very haunting and disturbing. Perfect for letting us know what type of book it’s going to be.

I read the book in only an hour, I didn’t know the stories were going to be that short, but it was a very good scary hour. The stories are very well written, nuggets of pure gold in the horror/psychological universe. I re-read a couple of them after I finished to make sure I captured the whole picture of the story.

The first story Vivian’s Video is just plain weird, I really loved it! Next up comes How to Satisfy the Keymaker, this was my least favourite and one of the shortest. Then came John Adams Two. This one was the best, imagine meeting yourself in the car park? What would you do? The last two stories are called A Friend in the Depths and Rooted.

I love that the stories are original. They show great talent from a new author, and I can’t wait to read more from Shane Hall. It’s a short book that I will read again one day when I am looking for a quick scare. Perfect for quick reading under the covers before bedtime, a note to parents, not suitable for children.

I have given Rooted and Four Other Disturbing Stories 5 out of 5 stars.

Rachel xx

*Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for a honest review. All views and opinion’s expressed are my own.

I remember my mum telling me about James Herbert’s Rats when I was a teenager, it was my first step into the deep dark scary world of horror. It’s a book world where I keep going back to years later. This introduction to horror led me to explore what young adult horror books were around in the early 90’s and these are what I found!

At school I remember there was some kind of book fair, and everyone was going crazy for the Point Horror series. They were written by many different authors including R.L Stine, who became to be my favourite young adult horror writer. He wrote Beach House which is shown in the picture, I love that one as I remember my older sister buying it for me. He wrote the Babysitter series which as I remember were well creepy! I’m sure that if you are of a similar age to me these were a part of your childhood! I still treasure my copies to this day and they have the pride of place in my library, although they are a bit on the rough side now!

As I got older I used to go to the public library after school, and this is where I explored the adult horror section to a fine detail. When I was around 15 I discovered the master of horror Stephen King. The first book I read of his was Rose Madder, which is about a husband and wife and their abusive relationship. I can see now that it was probabaly an inappropriate book for someone of 15, but I found it so intriguing. After I read all the more well known King books, like Carrie, The Tommyknockers and The Stand, of which is one of my all time favourite books, I looked further afield, and came accross James Herbert. I am not keen on his novel Once, I found it just plain weird! Its like an adult fairy tale with lots of dark undertones.

I had never read Herbert’s novel The Secret of Crickley Hall until I saw the TV adaptation which was made in 2012. Its about a young family who go and stay in a creepy house in Devon. I love a good ghost story and this is a great one! The book is way better than the mini series! It’s one of those books that you can go back and read all over again.

I would love to hear your thoughts on what your favourite horror books are, or if you are not a fan of horror your favourite books from school.

Rachel xx

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Book Review: Rooted and Four Other Disturbing Stories

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Nostalgic Horror Books from School

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